Charging up the past

Saturday, 25 June 2022

Launched more than 50 years ago and originally with a four-cylinder petrol engine, the Manta A (whose name was derived from the Manta Ray) was a competitor to the Euro Ford Capri thanks to its two-door coupe styling.

The Opel Manta nameplate lasted two generations and alas, hung up its boots in 1988, but not without garnering a bit of a cult following - notably the fuel-injected GT/E and special editions such as Black Magic and Swinger models. Yeah, baby!

But now it is on its way back (just in time for Opel to re-launch in New Zealand), as Opel has announced the revival of the Manta name on a sporty EV, and to celebrate that fact the clever engineers at Opel resurrected an iconic Manta A GSe as an emissions-free classic restomod. It’s called the ElektroMOD and I got to take it for a spin around Rüsselsheim in Germany.

There is only one Opel Manta ElektroMOD in existence, and Dave McLeod got to drive it. Briefly.

As a ‘labour of love’ project, the Manta really ticks all the boxes; the timeless Manta silhouette, sporty interior, digital screens, an electric powertrain AND it’s still a four-speed manual.

**READ MORE:

The Manta GSe’s 77kW petrol engine has been replaced by a 108kW electric motor, making it the most powerful Manta Opel has ever built. So far, that is.

* Opel launches in New Zealand

* Opel Manta to return as an electric sports car

* What we could have had: the new Astra

The Opel Manta is coming back as an all-electric performance coupe.

The ElektroMOD Manta was dressed in neon yellow paintwork that matches the recently updated Opel Corporate Identity and contrasted well against the signature black bonnet.

The headlights and grille have been replaced with one of the brand’s other new signatures, namely the Opel ‘Vizor’ which offers a ‘pure and bold’ front face.

The interior gets a nice blend of modern technology and retro touches, like that awesome three-spoke steering wheel.

However, in this ElektroMOD it’s a Pixel-Vizor, essentially a full-width LED screen that happily announces that ‘My German heart has been ELEKTRified’ followed by ‘I am on a zero e-mission’, then finally a silhouette of a manta ray appears.

The lights are LED, as are the integrated daytime running lamps, and the ElektroMOD Manta tail lights are three-dimensional. The boot displays “Manta” in the brand’s new Opel badging, and it all sits on 17-inch light alloy wheels from Ronal with 195/40 R17 tyres at the front and 205/40 R17 at the rear.

No four-cylinder grumble, but the ElektroMOD is still a manual.

The new tech continues on the inside with the classic round instruments being replaced by yet another new Opel signature piece; the Pure Panel. The Pure Panel is two integrated, driver-oriented, 12 and 10-inch widescreens that show important information about the car such as charge status and range.

They are clear and easy to read and in this ElektroMOD’s case, run a video loop while audio comes via a Bluetooth box from the legendary amplifier brand Marshall - simply awesome.

The full-width screen dominates the ElektroMOD’s dash.

In 1974 and 1975, the Manta GT/E was the first generation’s powerhouse model with 77kW but the Opel engineers have replaced this with an electric motor with 108kW, making it the most powerful Manta A ever built by Opel.

It delivers maximum torque of 255Nm from a standstill, and you can ‘manually’ shift the original four-speed gearbox. Or simply engage fourth gear and drive ‘automatically’. Obviously, I opted for the former.

The lithium-ion battery has a capacity of 31kWh, allowing an average range of around 200km and, as with the production Opel Corsa-e and the all-new Opel Mokka-e, the Manta GSe can also recover braking energy and store it in the battery.

Regular charging takes place via a 9.0kW on-board charger for single-phase and three-phase AC charging. This means it takes just under four hours to fully charge the Manta battery.

My test drive was essentially a brief trip across the Rüsselsheim township for lunch, and I have to admit to being nervous - this is one special car - although getting behind the Petri three-spoke steering wheel took me back decades when I was carefree and had more hair.

It had a key to start – yes a key – but of course no four-pot engine sound to follow, just a sporty coupe that was ready to rock. A dip of the clutch and first gear selection, which was all very nostalgic, and we were off.

It was a follow the leader drive through the quaint town centre, but I did what was expected and lagged back a little only to subsequently catch up and get a sense of the electric Manta’s powertrain, which I have to say was pretty fun, all the while changing up and down the gears.

The Manta’s sports seats offered plenty of comforting support, they were developed for the Adam S and came with a ‘go faster’ centre yellow decor line while the rest of the cockpit is matte grey, again contrasting well against the neon yellow and it’s all finished with period plastics and tactile Alcantara in places like the roof lining.

While it was only a relatively short drive to our lunch destination, bearing in mind this Manta’s rarity and importance, it was probably enough, and it gave me a sweet taste of both what was and what can be.

Despite the drive being brief, it was very involved. Yes it’s now in many ways a modern electric car, but you use the clutch to ‘change gears’ like we used to only without any biting point. It felt quick (in comparison to what I remembered) and aside from the pure panel, very simple in features with skinny indicators and wiper stalks, yep it rains in Germany.

Honestly, I didn’t stop smiling throughout lunch.